Jim Ross had set his sights on Wembley Stadium as the finish line for his recovery, but his medical team has closed that door for now.
Ross has been recovering from surgery to place a shunt that drains excess fluid from his brain, and he’s continued to deal with headaches, memory issues, and balance problems, including a recent fall at home that broke a bench.
On “Grilling JR,” he explained that both his brain surgeon and another doctor warned him to stay off airplanes altogether, since a fall or injury could force an emergency landing or leave him needing hospital care in London.
I really wanted to go to London this week. I really did, man. You’ve got to have goals and you’ve got to have destinations, and that was my next one.”
“Both my brain surgeon and another doctor said, ‘You need to keep your ass off the airplane because if you fall or get hurt, they’ve got to make an emergency landing, or you fall in London and you’ve got to go to a London hospital. It’s not worth the risk.’
The news is a reversal from where things stood on August 18, when Ross was still going through rehab and telling fans he was targeting Wembley as his return date. He’d hoped to call a card he views as stacked with genuine dream matches, saying it was the kind of show he couldn’t wait to get back behind the headset for.
I thought, man, if I can get to do Wembley Stadium, because the show’s going to be amazing. I know the term ‘dream match’ is used a lot in wrestling, but literally, there are some dream matches, in my view, that are going to be on this Sunday’s show on pay-per-view.”
“I’m not going to just hype the hell out of everything, but if you’re a fan and love wrestling, this Sunday’s show is one that you might want to check out because there are some matches on there that I thought, as a broadcaster, ‘I can’t wait to call.’
Ross said he understands the decision even though it stings, and he credited his daughter and longtime friend Steven “Missing Link” DiSalvatore for helping him manage appointments and treatment during recovery. He’s framing this as a delay rather than a setback to his broader comeback, with no new target date announced yet.
I understand it. I’m disappointed—very disappointed—and I’ll be watching for sure. But that’s the way it goes sometimes. I’m 74 years old, I think, but I am feeling better. I’ve just got to get back to myself—thinking about things, remembering things.”
“I’m healing, just not as fast as I’d like, but I am healing. We’re moving right along, and I’m anxious to get this stuff behind me and get back to doing some work. I miss calling matches.
